Will There Be Tears In Heaven?

Revelation 21:1-4 NKJV

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and  be their God. 

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

I used to read this scripture or hear preaching about it and think, "Won't it be great when we all get to heaven!  Everyone will be so happy that there will be no tears!"  But, when you think about it, that isn't quite accurate, is it?  If there are no tears in heaven, how can Jesus wipe them away?  The fact is, there will be tears in heaven; LOTS OF THEM.  

"How can that be?" you ask.  Let's allow the Bible to explain itself.

Notice the order in which events happen in the 4 verses above:

#1.  John saw the new heavens and earth.  There was no sea because the old had passed away.

#2.  The New Jerusalem was coming down to earth. 

#3.  Jesus was coming to rule the earth from Jerusalem to dwell with us 

and THEN we see.....

#4. Jesus wiping away our tears.

Why are there tears in Heaven?  Well, because on this side of heaven "we see through a glass darkly."  We have to contend with the world, the flesh and the devil who is constantly trying to confuse, abuse and accuse us.  We are often disturbed by circumstances in our increasingly troubled world, we may give in to lusts of the flesh and/or be confused by lying whispers of the devil.

We humans, being basically negative, also find it way too easy to get down on ourselves.  As if that weren't bad enough, for some reason, it's easier to believe what isn't true than what is true.  We struggle with believing how much we are loved by God, how forgiven and how completely redeemed we are and that the devil has NO POWER over us because JESUS CRUSHED HIS HEAD, even though it is documented, oh let's see.....only EVERYWHERE!!

In our partial blindness tend to be a bit judgmental of others, particularly other believers, instead of seeing them like Jesus does:  As sheep without a Shepherd.  Law-centric or not, other believers are beloved brothers.  That's how God sees them.  

One day we will be forever in the Presence of THE ONE Who loves us ALL SO MUCH that He gave Himself for us.  He took what we deserved and gave us what He deserves.  

Oh yes:  In the Presence of that pure grace, more grace than our puny, finite little minds can comprehend, THERE WILL BE MANY TEARS.  When we will realize how unkind and uncharitable we have been at times to others, how hard we were on ourselves...needlessly, how small our hearts were AND our how small our estimation of our great and loving Daddy God, there will be many tears!  We are going to be so overwhelmed by our Daddy's goodness we will be moved to tears.

But our wonderful Jesus will be right there to soothe our hearts, to love us with His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and yes, to "wipe away every tear from our eyes!"  He will right every wrong, mend every broken heart, every broken relationship and replace all our tears of sorrow with pure joy forever after.

Oh, Yes!  There will be many, MANY Tears in Heaven. 

Feed My Sheep.....PLEASE.

2 Corinthians 3:18
"18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

 

How are we are transformed?  By beholding Jesus!  When we hear of His great love for us, what He endured on our behalf at the cross, how He healed everyone everywhere He went and how He provided for all their needs we just can't help but fall madly in love with Him!
 

It is critical that we understand we are forever "made" righteous.  That means it was done "TO US" and cannot be UNdone  "BY US."  There is NOTHING we say or do that can change our right standing with God.  That knowledge sets us free from all condemnation, just as Jesus intended, and enables us to live holy lives.....effortlessly!

 

We need to hear this over and over again.  We need to be reminded of just how madly in love Jesus is with us!  The more we hear anointed teaching and preaching about His FINISHED work and our righteousness in Him and His love for us the more effortlessly we love Him right back and live right.
 

"FEEDING THE SHEEP" means pastors and teachers telling us the above over and over again,  giving the Holy Spirit the necessary raw materials He needs in His work to transform us into Jesus' likeness.

But when His name is BARELY mentioned in church...if at all...except in a judgmental, disapproving way He has nothing to work with.  Know what the saddest thing of all is?  That very same well-meaning pastor has not only stymied the work of the Holy Spirit but has given the devil great delight.  It's his agenda!

WE DON'T WANT THAT!

 

Hearing messages about what Jesus would do, how He would think or act in any given situation OR what we should do, how we should act or think, not only doesn't unveil Jesus it backfires on the unwitting pastor who, no doubt, desperately wants his or her congregation to succeed.  He...or she...is helping his people to live UNholy lives, to fail, struggle with sin and die young.  Why?  Because that's what teaching LAW does.  

Law is DEMAND:  It is the ministry of condemnation and death.  Grace, on the other hand, is SUPPLY.

CONDEMNATION KILLS......literally; spiritually AND physically.  Please don't get the wrong idea that we can lose our salvation. That’s IMPOSSIBLE.  But because of the teaching of law MIXED with grace, which I've heard called "balance," our people are sick, in want and dying before their time.
 

At the risk of teaching law, let me say this:  If you're in a leadership role and are truly serious about helping your people love Jesus more, to share Him with everyone they meet without being told, to live holy lives and prosper in every area then stop trying to do the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is His job to lead them from within on paths of righteousness, not yours from the pulpit.  That qualifies as an abuse of the privilege.

 

The Pastor's job is to "FEED."  That's what Jesus admonished Peter to do......THREE TIMES.
That being said, there is a place for correction: IN PRIVATE.  It's not something you expound from the pulpit, whacking the rest of the flock most of whom are not only NOT guilty of whatever sin you're talking about but came hungering and thirsting to see Jesus but they went away empty. 

The last thing they need is to hear your brand of law--rules and regulations--about behavior.  This isn't kindergarten and that kind of "message" is just your reluctance to confront the wayward person face to face.  It isn't easy...but it's Biblical.  It's the right thing to do and I think you know that.
 

The sheep are hungry to see JESUS.  So show them!  That's how they are transformed.  

PLEASE; do them a favor.  Heed Jesus' admonition to "FEED MY SHEEP."


 

The Emmaus Road

Luke 24:13-19

"Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him." 

And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,"

-

These two dejected disciples were going over and over the events of the last several days, probably also the last three years, as they sadly walked along the road to Emmaus.  They really thought Jesus was THE ONE, the Messiah Whose coming had been foretold for centuries by all the prophets and had pinned all their hopes on Him.  Then, in a gut-wrenching turn of events, He was taken away from them, tried like some criminal and crucified though He was completely innocent!  They were DEVASTATED AND CONFUSED!    

At some point along their journey to Emmaus, Jesus Himself came and walked along beside them only they were not aware it was Him. One of them was Peter.  The other, though the Holy Spirit has not named the person, was probably his wife.  We'll discuss this later.

Don't you just love how Jesus comes to us when we're down?  He comes IN PERSON!

This seven-mile journey is recorded only one place in the Bible:  Here in the 24th chapter of Luke.  It happened on a Sunday.  In fact, all of Jesus' post resurrection appearances that the Holy has recorded for us occurred on Sunday.  This is no accident; it's a message.  He was showing us the best way to teach the Old Testament.  This is what He wants His Church to doing every Sunday:  

Teach the Old Testament scriptures in order to bring out Jesus and share in communion together.

(Aerial view of Emmaus Nikapolis ruins)

Isn't it strange that they didn't recognize Jesus?  After all, this is the one with Whom they spent practically every waking, and sleeping, moment for the past 3 years.  They saw countless healings and miracles and were ear witnesses to THE MOST AWESOME TEACHINGS OF ALL TIME.   

So why did they not recognize Him? 

Luke documents that "their eyes WERE RESTRAINED from seeing Him," in vs. 16. That means Jesus prevented them from recognizing Him.  

Why did Jesus restrain their eyes?  Here He was on the morning He arose IN PERSON!  He could have easily and quickly dispelled their sadness by showing them His hands and side.  So why didn’t He show Himself?  The answer to that question shows the great love of our God for us!

So here we have this traveler walking alongside who doesn't seem to know anything that has happened of late and who, they assume, must be a stranger.  They proceed to explain recent events to Him.

After quietly listening to their story, Jesus says these words to them: 

“O FOOLISH ONES, and SLOW OF HEART to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 

26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses {the first 5 books} and all the Prophets, {not Psalms; it's at the end of their Bible} HE EXPOUNDED TO THEM IN ALL THE SCRIPTURES THINGS CONCERNING HIMSELF." 

The Greek word for foolish here, "anoētoi," means "not understanding," and the word for "believe," is the word "pisteuein."  It means "to have faith in, trust in; believe."  

Jesus wasn't angry with them.  He wasn't chiding or scolding them, even though it was Peter who at one time had actually confessed He was the Christ.  But it was incredible to Him that, after all they had witnessed FIRST HAND, they still struggled with doubt and skepticism.   

It is no accident that the name, "Emmaus," means "hot baths."  The Romans had built a bath house in Emmaus somewhere around 496BC because this area was fed by natural hot springs.  It was along this Emmaus road Jesus gave these two very discouraged disciples a "hot Bible bath," washing them with the water of the Word.  

(Ruins of Roman hot bath in Emmaus)

The Greek word for "foolish" here, as I said, does not mean "stupid" in a condescending way but simply "not understanding,"  the exact same word Paul used when he called the Galatians "foolish."  As it was then, so today there are two types of problems in the Church. Some people--Leaders are not exempt--are either foolish, meaning they don't have a proper understanding of scripture; OR, they DO understand the scriptures but have a hard time believing what it plainly says:  That GOD'S GRACE REALLY IS THAT AMAZING!

Our people in the Church today NEED TO SEE JESUS!!!  It's the ONLY WAY they can be transformed from glory to glory.  It's the material the Holy Spirit uses to do His work in us.   Without it we cannot be transformed.  In fact, we become deformed!  

We don't need to go into the Old Testament to learn laws, laws and more laws, what is good, what is bad, what to do and what not to do.  You can teach all those things without unveiling Jesus at all.  This will cause the people to live UNholy lives.  

Jesus didn't come to give us laws, laws and more laws.  He came to set us free from bondage!
 

 

At last the trio arrived at the town of Emmaus where the two disciples lived.  They urged the stranger to come in for dinner.  Let's follow the story.

"Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and HE INDICATED THAT HE WOULD HAVE GONE FARTHER. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
"Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 

"And they said to one another, “DID NOT OUR HEART BURN WITHIN US while He talked with us on the road, and WHILE HE OPENED THE SCRIPTURES TO US?” 

So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And THEY TOLD ABOUT THE THINGS THAT  HAD  HAPPENED ON THE ROAD, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread."  Luke 24:28-35

 

See how their hearts "burned within them" as Jesus opened the Scriptures to them?  They saw Him in all the types, offices and stories in the Old Testament.  Seeing Jesus there will soften the hardest heart and warm the coldest soul.  It will cause the people to want to draw nearer to Him; to fall head-over-heels in love with Him!  Their hearts will burn within them!

That's why He concealed Himself: Because He knew it was more important for them to be able to SEE HIM IN THE SCRIPTURES than to see Him in the flesh.  He knew that after He went back to His Father, they would no longer be able to see Him in the flesh.  

You and I are in the same boat today, Church.  We can't see Him physically either.  He wanted us to know how we, too, could feel warmed, filled, strengthened and encouraged by "seeing" Him IN THE SCRIPTURES.  

Notice the Holy Spirit said that Jesus indicated that He would have GONE FURTHER.  Why would He want to go further if Cephas and his wife were headed to their home in Emmaus?  Remember what the passage said further that Jesus expounded to them in the LAW:  the first five books, and THE PROPHETS:  Joshua through Malachi NOT INCLUDING PSALMS which was at the end of their Bible, explaining all the scriptures concerning Himself.  He would have gone further so that He could show them scriptures IN THE PSALM concerning Himself as well but they urged Jesus to come aside into their home because it was nearing evening.  He came in and as they sat at the table He served them communion.  THAT'S WHEN THEY RECOGNIZED HIM:  In the bread and the wine!
As soon as their eyes were opened, He vanished from their sight.  

Where there had been doubt, grief and despair now they were filled with faith, great joy and hope!

What was their immediate response?  MISSIONS!  All the two wanted to do was to tell the other disciples at once!  They were so encouraged, in fact, and had such great strength that they got up and made the entire seven-mile trip back to Jerusalem that very night!  

Wow!  They just walked seven miles and now they're walking all the way back!  

As soon as the two arrive, they both declare that the Lord Himself had appeared to Simon!  They both told the disciples all that had happened on the Emmaus Road.

Immediately after they had finished speaking look what happened:
"Now as they said these things, JESUS HIMSELF STOOD IN THE MIDST OF THEM, and said to them, “Peace to you.”  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.   And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

When He had said this, HE SHOWED THEM HIS HANDS AND HIS FEET.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.
Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the LAW of Moses and the PROPHETS AND THE PSALMS concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Ah!  Jesus finally got His chance to "GO FURTHER."  You see, He would have expounded to Peter and his wife the scriptures concerning Himself IN THE PSALMS, too, but they asked Him to turn aside into their home and eat with them.  In the place where all the disciples were gathered together He did that AFTER they really believed it was Him.  

Jesus was incredulous that they at first did not really believe He was there in their midst in the flesh.  They thought He was a ghost or something.  That is why He asked for something to EAT in their presence.  THEN they all believed!

 In this heart-warming story Jesus is showing us that in order to teach the Old Testament we need to bring out the portraits of Jesus hidden in every story, every description, every typology and in the meanings of words, names, numbers and places from one end of the Bible to the other.  We need to bring out the spirit of the word which gives LIFE...not the letter, the Law, which KILLS. Don't go there to find laws, laws and more laws; go there to SEE JESUS!

Epilogue:

As for the identity of the other disciple walking along with Peter, most naturally assume it was a man.  But women were disciples too, you know.  She kept silent, or at least the Holy Spirit has not recorded that she spoke.  It is no accident that the Holy Spirit talks about the first couple Jesus came and WALKED ALONGSIDE after He rose from the dead.  

 

 

There was another couple long ago that God WALKED ALONGSIDE in the cool of the evening.  The very first couple when the earth was new:  Adam and Eve.  Remember them?  Unfortunately, back then, when the serpent showed up, the woman did all the talking while her husband remained silent.  Because he allowed the woman to do all the talking, his failure to speak up plunged all mankind into sin.  

You see, Adam knew the serpent was feeding her a pack of lies yet he did not say one word to counter those lies.  So, we needed a Savior, Jesus, to come to our rescue.  

In the story of the Emmaus Road, the woman kept silent while the man did all the talking.  Womankind has been validated and vindicated for her part in the fall!  That's why Jesus first appeared to a woman after He rose from the dead.  He honored and elevated all women by His actions.  Oh how He loves us! Isn't God good?!

So you see, this story in the Bible is so much more than just an account of an wonderful, private, personal encounter with Jesus.  There are many, many lessons, messages and blessings to be had from this wonderful appearance of Jesus HIMSELF on the Emmaus Road.

In Remembrance Of Me

Isaiah 53:3-6

"3He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely He has borne our GRIEFS*

And carried our SORROWS;*

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Jesus paid a terrible price to redeem us.  In fact He OVERPAID the price!  The Holy Spirit has painted us many pictures to give us a glimpse of that price, of what He suffered on our behalf, from Genesis to Revelation.  Nowhere is it more graphically portrayed than here in Isaiah 53.

To hear some preach about this passage, you get the idea that what Jesus did for us ONLY redeemed us from our sins.  That He most certainly did!  But to believe it is ONLY forgiveness of sins keeps us from fully appropriating what His death accomplished:  Our physical well-being.

Church, God does not differentiate between sin and sickness.  He takes care of both in exactly the same way.  Follow the link below for more on this topic and learn something about Jesus' love for us in the book of Leviticus:  https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/jesus-love-for-you-in-the-book-of-leviticus/

The word in Hebrew for "GRIEFS" in this verse is "choli: sickness."  This refers to any kind of PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL or MENTAL illness.  It is NEVER Used to describe spiritual healing, though all healing actually begins in your spirit.  Remember what it says in Proverbs:  "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." When you are physically healed, it conversely accomplishes positive things in your spirit!  

In the same manner, the word for "SORROWS" in Hebrew is the word, "macov: pain."  This means PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL or MENTAL pains.  It absolutely DOES NOT ever refer to spiritual healing. NEVER.

When you partake of communion and believe that the bread and the cup both ONLY represent His taking away Your sins, you are being ROBBED of it's full and intended benefit.  His blood was meant for the forgiveness of your sins, represented by the cup, and the PHYSICAL healing of body and soul, your complete shalom, represented by the bread. 

This "robbery" is what Paul was talking about when he wrote about partaking "in an UNWORTHY MANNER."  When you do not differentiate between the body and the blood as one being for physical healing, the other for forgiveness of sins, you are robbing yourself of it's full intended benefit.  THIS IS PARTAKING IN AN UNWORTHY MANNER.

It isn't the person who is unworthy because, "Hello," WE ARE ALL UNWORTHY; it is the MANNER which robs us of all God's benefits.

The Church has failed to offer her people all these benefits.  That is why many are sick and die before their time.  IT IS NOT TRUE, as is widely taught, that people fall sick and die prematurely because they are unworthy.  THIS IS A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL. 

The devil is behind this "teaching," if you can call it that.  You see, He cannot do anything about the fact that we are going to heaven, but he can try his best to blind Christans, preachers and teachers, perpetrate his lies through them and see that we get there quicker by believing falsehood.  Can't tell others about Jesus or be of any earthly good if you're DEAD.  This is the big danger of believing false teachings.  There is no, was not and never will be any danger to your spirit.  Nothing can you think, say or do can change your right standing before God no send you to hell.  Your righteousness, after all, is not your own.  It is totally based on the righteousness of Another Who was punished in your place:  Our Lord Jesus!  

God intends for us to be PHYSICALLY WHOLE AND HEALTHY, live a long and prosperous life in order to be able to tell as many as possible about His beloved Son.  

I hope this is clear.

Don't ever let anyone.....pastor, teacher, preacher, theologian, even if he has a PhD.....tell you that you cannot partake of communion because you have unconfessed sin in your life which makes you unworthy until you confess them to God.  ANOTHER OF THE DEVIL'S LIES. 

This whole erroneous culture of confession came out of misinterpreting, misunderstanding  and misapplying 1 John 1:9.  This passage is misapplied because it has been taken out of context. To understand what it's proper context is, follow the link below for more on that topic:   https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/the-gospels-part-3-of-16-rightly-dividing-the-word-of-god/)

Jesus said, "Do this IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME."  But what do we do?  Turn it around and make it all about us remembering our sins!  Leave it to man to make it all about man.  You are told to "Search your heart, confess any sins so you can partake 'worthily.'"

Tell me Church:  

Did Jesus take away ALL your sins.  

YES!

Did He do a good job?  

YES!

All means ALL.  

Are there any left?  

NO.  None for your entire life.  So what are you remembering if they're ALL gone?  Make up your mind.  Are they ALL gone or not?

Oh I know:  you were taught that all your sins from your past up until you accepted Christ were put away but you must still confess as you go, right?  If that is your understanding, you are in the same boat as Simon the Pharisee.  

Remember him?  Jesus was invited to dine at his house one day when a sinner woman came in.  She was weeping, washing His feet with her tears and wiping them away with her hair.  During the course of this encounter, it came to light that Simon thought the same thing:  That you must confess as you go in order to be made right with God again.  

Jesus set him straight, explaining the difference between "PRESENT TENSE FORGIVENESS AND PERFECT TENSE FORGIVENESS."  If you're confused on this topic and want to know what Jesus said, follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/no-one-is-forgiven-little/

The truth is, Church, if you are truly born again, YOU ARE NEVER UNQUALIFIED TO PARTAKE OF COMMUNION. To believe otherwise is an insult to Jesus and the blood He shed for our complete cleansing. 

Jesus did a complete work in cleansing your entire life--from the moment you asked Jesus into your heart to the day you see Him face to face!  AMEN!  

The word, "Shalom," means completeness, wholeness, health, {physical, mental, emotional} peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity {yes, financial} perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. 

It comes from the root verb shelem meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam means to be fully paid.

And Who FULLY PAID for us?  

JESUS!!!

Don't make holy communion a remembrance of your sins that are already cleansed.  Jesus said, "Do this IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME."

This Math Is Hazardous To Your Health

Adding and subtracting

Revelation 1:3; 

"3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near."

This verse at the beginning of the book of Revelation is a promise of blessing to those who read the words of the prophesies in this book.  But it doesn't only apply to Revelation:  it includes the other 65 as well. 

In the very last chapter of Revelation, however, there is an ominous warning.  

Revelation 22:18-19

"18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone ADDS to these things, God will ADD to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone TAKES AWAY from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall TAKE AWAY his part from the Book of Life, ( the Mazoretic text says, "tree" instead of book) from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

"If anyone ADDS to the Words of this book God will ADD to him the PLAGUES in this book."

Who is adding, what are they adding and to what plagues is it referring?  I used to think this was referring to cult-like groups that take the Bible, add their own writings and twist the scriptures to fit their own peculiar theology. 

While that certainly is true and does apply, that is not what God is primarily concerned with here.  His major concern is that if anyone adds anything....ANYTHING AT ALL.....to the finished work of Jesus, like say, our performance, and tell us,  "We have to do this or we have to do that" to be pleasing to God, they are ADDING TO THE WORK OF CHRIST.

BIG NO NO.

Nothing.....not even the lightest weight of a feather......is to be nor can be added to Jesus' finished work, insinuating that what He endured on the cross was not payment enough.  It's like saying, "Worthy is the lamb.....and me."  AS IF!

To those foolish enough to think that any self righteous works of theirs are needed to please God in ANY WAY He promises that He will ADD TO THAT PERSON all the plagues that are written in this book.  Go on; read 'em in Deuteronomy 28 if you want to have some major nightmares; THEY'RE TEEEIFYING!

On the other hand, if anyone TAKES AWAY from what is written in his book, GOD WILL TAKE AWAY his part in the tree of life.  Does that mean that you can loose your salvation!  OF COURSE NOT!

 

Here is what God means:  

There are preachers who will tell you that some of the gifts of the Spirit, like healing or tongues whatever, are not for today.  In so saying, they are "taking away" from the word of God, robbing their flock of things that were given to us BY GOD to bless us.  

These are serious matters.

There may be preachers who tell you that you must confess your sins before you take communion so you don't partake unworthily.  These well-meaning Christians are "adding" to the word of God.  You are made FOREVER RIGHTEOUS in Christ from the first nano second of your new birth.  All your sins.:  Past-Present-Future, are put away.  You stand in the perfection of God's beloved Son.  What is there to confess?  You wanna go and dredge up what God Almighy has put away?  We don't partake,"in remembrance of our sins;  we partake IN REMEMBRANCE OF JESUS!

So, what does it mean to "partake in an unworthy manner?"  Simply this: If you do not make a clear distinction between the body of Jesus--that it was broken for your PHYSICAL HEALING--and the blood--which CLEANSES FROM ALL SIN--you are short-changing yourself of its full and intended benefit.  Understanding and making that distinction is partaking worthily.
His body was broken so that yours could be restored!   His blood cleanses from all sin!

You can take communion whenever you want, just like medicine.  You don't need to be an ordained minister to partake daily, even several times a day if you are sick, at home on your own. Remember, we are all kings and priests after the order of Melchizedek. The church is not a building; it is all of us who are born again.  

I highly encourage you to partake frequently and declare yourself made whole by Jesus' stripes.  Make a clear distinction in your mind even, and ESPECIALLY, if you don't hear it from the pulpit.

What, or more to the point, Who, is this tree of Life?  It's Jesus!  Remember what He did while here on earth?  He healed everyone everywhere He went, fed the five and the seven thousand and cast out all manner of demons.  One cannot be in the presence of Jesus and be sick, in want or possessed of a demon.  For that matter, if you want a successful funeral, don't invite Him!

What does it mean that God will take away your part in the book of life?  It means that those who "TAKE AWAY FROM THE WORDS IN THIS BOOK," meaning they don't believe God helps today, even though He is the same yesterday, today and forever.....their health will be affected--taken away--and they will die of some disease before their time.  "The Tree Of Life" is of no effect to them.  It means rhey will suffer physical "death" in one form or another.
However, when you eat of the TREE OF LIFE, your disease is no more and your youth is renewed like the eagle's!

Tell me:  Why are we giving more weight and credit to sin, evil and man's efforts to try to please God?  It's backwards!  Our loving, wonderful, compassionate and generous Heavenly Father should get ALL the credit.  His grace and the Holy Spirit are far more powerful and effective in touching and changing people's lives.  
 

 

Not believing that ALL the gifts are given to the church for our benefit is, in effect, not trusting God.  We seem to be more inclined to try and fix things ourselves or run to the doctor first before bringing our needs to God, thereby glorifying man's efforts over God's provision.  Nothing wrong with doctors, mind you.  But let's go to our Great Physician first.  

So where is your focus?  On Jesus and His finished work?..... or on yourself and your performance?  

That focusing AWAY FROM Jesus TO ourselves, Church, is the SPIRIT OF ANTI-CHRIST which is working overtime in these last days, sad to say.  It is alive and well in many churches, glorifying man's self efforts to be pleasing to God.

That is the heart of the matter.  If the Church would shed this wrong focus, turn around and face Jesus, REVIVAL OF UNPRECEDENTED PROPORTIONS WOULD BREAK OUT WITH SIGNS AND WONDERS FOLLOWING!

We are either justified by KEEPING THE WHOLE LAW--i.e. focusing on man and his self efforts {including circumcision}, OR--or we are SAVED BY FAITH THROUGH GRACE.  Good luck trying to perfectly obey the law.  It's impossible.

Make up your mind.  You cannot have it both ways.  You're either under grace through faith OR you are justified by the law through your own efforts.
 

 

Though none of the above can rob you of spending eternity with Jesus once you are born again, it can make life here on earth very unpleasant.  

The whole point is to take our eyes off us, turn around and face Jesus and take Him at His word. The Holy Spirit put all those wonderful things in the Bible to bless and benefit us.  Let's take advantage of all the gifts God has so graciously given to us without measure.  

Let's have no more adding and subtracting.